Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

The giant was dead, without the help of a "Giant Butcher" siege crossbow.

Its massive body was still twitching slightly, and Poro was surprised to find that the giant's flesh had become somewhat softer after death.

Its excessive weight crushed the corpse in on itself.

Like a collapsed statue.

"You... you can use magic-etched steel crossbows without a 'Giant Butcher'?! And you actually killed a giant?!"

Most of the survivors had already fled at the start of the battle.

Now, only the Boron sergeant who had been rescued by the veteran remained.

At this moment, the sergeant stared at the dead giant, his eyes wide. As a veteran with considerable experience in the Boron army, he had naturally seen dead giants before.

All the signs indicated that the giant before him was completely dead.

"Yes, don't worry, this giant is dead."

Leake comforted the sergeant as she stepped forward, taking out some spare herbs from her pack to apply to his wounds.

But the sergeant waved his hand, a bitter expression on his weathered face.

"Thank you, but... it's no use. Ordinary herbs probably won't save me."

Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his aging face. When he lifted his armor, everyone saw that the sergeant's abdomen had caved in, revealing a patch of dark purple.

"I was grazed by the giant just now, and now I can't feel my lower body. I should... be dying soon, right? I can feel it."

Poro and the others exchanged glances, but they were helpless.

They didn't know any medicine. The knowledge Leake had learned through [Spiral Beacon: Hunter] was mostly for treating external wounds and stitching limbs.

And the Boron sergeant's injuries were clearly not limited to "external wounds."

"It's okay, don't worry about me."

The Boron sergeant leaned against a rock, looked at the others, and forced a smile while enduring the pain.

"Congratulations, everyone. You killed a giant. If the Boron Kingdom can survive, you'll receive a large reward!

Oh, right, remember to cut off the giant's tongue. It can be used as proof."

The sergeant spoke eloquently, his emotions becoming more vivid.

The sergeant looked to be about the same age as the veteran Invi.

Now, under the influence of his final moments of clarity, he seemed to talk more.

He looked at the sword in Leake's hand, the sword that originally belonged to the Boron prince.

At this time, the complex patterns on the sword's blade had been burned away after Leake overloaded it with spells, and it was covered in cracks. Its hardness was likely no better than that of an ordinary sword.

The sergeant seemed to think of something, paused for a moment, and then suddenly said with a smile:

"You're probably not Boron people, are you?"

"No, we're from Thuno."

"Haha, then let me tell you a story... a piece of Boron Kingdom history!"

The sergeant could tell from their accents that the people in front of him were not locals. He didn't mind. Instead, the excitement in his eyes grew, and his words revealed a hint of pride.

"Of course, you can hear this story from other Boron people, but they all think it's a legend. Only old Boron people like me know it—it's true history!"

"You mean..."

Leake had read Queen's recorded [Boron Intelligence Summary] and suddenly had some associations.

"A history about the Boron and the giants, about that giant court that flashed briefly in history."

The Boron sergeant coughed, spitting out the blood in his throat, a trace of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"Before the founding of the Boron Kingdom, humans and giants fought many times on this plain.

Although giants are strong, they are limited by their intelligence and narrow-mindedness...

With the unity of humans, the small number of giants was not enough to wipe out humanity, until—the Giant King appeared!

He was a powerful giant with intelligence comparable to humans. He also had the ability to command all giants. Most importantly—he could even forge equipment for giants by some means!

He had four of the strongest giants, all of whom were armed with armor and weapons forged by the Giant King, known as... the Giant Guard.

Humans relied on wisdom, weapons, and united strength to fight against giants.

But when giants also possessed these things—

Human armies became vulnerable.

At that time, the humans on this plain were almost slaughtered, becoming the giants' pastures. Under the rule of that Giant King, all the giants formed the 'Giant Court.'"

"Ah? Then how could humans win against the Giant Court, if the giants had a ruler who was also a giant, and... those equipment?!"

"Yes, all the humans at that time were almost in despair."

The Boron sergeant laughed. "But we humans also had legendary extraordinary warriors who were born—

He was the founder of our Boron Kingdom. No one knows where he came from.

People only know that he was a mysterious swordsman with a silver longsword as bright as the stars.

He single-handedly broke into the Giant Court. Three of the four Giant Guards were killed, and one was severely injured.

And the Giant King, who possessed human intelligence, was also driven above the clouds—

He could no longer endanger the humans of the world!"

"Someone could really..."

Leake's eyes widened. She and the others had personally experienced the power of the giants. The only giant they had killed was at the cost of Leake overloading and destroying the steel crossbow bolts and the prince's longsword.

And someone was able to kill four giants who were also armored and armed with a single sword, and even drive the intelligent Giant King to the clouds!?

"Yes, so he is a legend.

But unfortunately, this battle also severely injured him.

After leaving behind the magic-etched inheritance of our Boron Kingdom, which has been passed down to this day, he died."

The sergeant was silent for a while, then turned his gaze to the magic-breaking longsword that Leake had already sheathed, and suddenly said,

"But the most precious thing he left behind was the weapon he used to kill three Giant Guards and drive the Giant King out of the sky—

That sword with the starlight glory.

It's called... the Star Slayer Sword."

"Star Slayer..."

Leake's eyes flickered slightly. She had heard this name, or rather, she probably knew more about this "national treasure" of the Boron Kingdom than the sergeant did.

Because, in the books she had obtained from the Queen's library.

One of them was called [Star Slayer Sword]!

"Originally, from then on—

The remaining giants, because of their stupidity, had internal strife and lost the skill of making weapons and armor, so they could no longer threaten the survival of humans on this plain as they had before.

But until the appearance of that human traitor, Severn."

The old soldier said here, and spat out a few more mouthfuls of blood. His voice began to weaken rapidly.

"Severn, can command these giants, in addition to using their stupidity—it is very likely that he has obtained all the inheritance of the Giant King!

Before, the giant wearing giant armor and holding a giant sword should be the only remaining one from a hundred years ago, who is still alive today—

The Giant Guard."

"Then why hasn't your king used that... Star Slayer Sword yet?"

Poro couldn't help but ask, "If it's really that powerful..."

"Because not everyone can use the Star Slayer Sword. According to legend, only someone who meets certain characteristics can pick up that sword—

Maybe only His Majesty the King knows what that characteristic is?"

The Boron sergeant said here, his face becoming paler. He slowly raised his head, looked at the others, and said,

"That is the national treasure of our Boron country, but I think that only people are the foundation of the Boron Kingdom.

I don't know why His Majesty doesn't take out the sword and seek people who can hold the sword from all over the world.

But now is undoubtedly the last moment."

As the sergeant spoke, his trembling hand took out a shining emblem from his arms and handed it to Leake in front of him, "Can you... do me a favor?

Tell His Majesty the King everything that happened here.

We have failed. That despicable traitor, the deceiver, may be much stronger than previously predicted—this is the moment of life and death for the Boron Kingdom.

Let His Majesty the King no longer make reservations.

If we don't want a hundred-year kingdom to be scattered in one day, we must give everything!"

Leake wanted to say something more.

But the sergeant in front of him had already closed his eyes, and his hand fell weakly.

…

The group rode their horses out of the forest and back onto the road to the capital.

Leake looked at the emblem left by the dead Boron sergeant in her hand. Under the golden luster, there were still some blood stains that could not be removed.

"Can that magic-breaking sword still be used?"

Poro asked, looking at the longsword that was already covered with cracks and charred marks at Leake's waist.

"It can't be used, but after I study for a while longer, I might be able to try to recast one."

Leake replied after a little thought, "Besides, this sword is just a replica of the Star Slayer Sword, and it's not that precious."

Speaking of this, Leake's expression suddenly became a little low. She was silent for a few seconds, and then opened her mouth again and said,

"Poro, the conditions for using the Star Slayer Sword are actually not high..."

"Is it recorded in the Queen's notebook? What are the conditions for using it?"

Poro also thought of the Queen's book, [Star Slayer Sword], which was recorded in a special notebook.

"People who choose to fight because they are protecting and saving others—can all obtain the qualifications to use the Star Slayer Sword."

Leake replied, wrapping the emblem left by the Boron sergeant and putting it into her bag along with the cut-off giant tongue.

"I think, like those before...

Soldiers who died under the feet of giants for their lives should all be recognized by the Star Slayer Sword."

"Then why doesn't His Majesty the King use it?"

"Perhaps that king also has some difficulties."

Night enveloped again, and the clouds in the sky covered the starlight.

The road seemed a little blurry, and even with a map, it seemed dark and difficult to see.

The group stopped and lit a bonfire.

It was Poro's turn to keep watch. His greenish-yellow eyes looked at the girl lying next to him.

It was very late, but the girl didn't fall asleep. Her blue pupils looked at the faint light revealed between the clouds in the sky, as if she was thinking about something.

"Aren't you sleeping? Leake."

Poro asked.

"I can't... sleep very well."

Leake's bright eyes flickered slightly, and she looked at Poro, "As soon as I close my eyes, I will see those people who cried and died tragically under the feet of giants, and... those dead Boron soldiers."

Poro was silent for a moment, sat down next to Leake, looked up at the sky, and after a long time, suddenly smiled:

"Leake, it's been a long time since I told you a bedtime story, right?"

"Poro, what are you going to tell me?"

Leake listened, and a trace of expectation flowed in her blue pupils.

"A story that is also about giants, a story about—courage and wisdom.

The name of the story is—

The Brave Little Tailor."

//The picture is the original text of the fairy tale. If you don't want to read it, you can skip it directly, or look at the synopsis of the writer's saying

Synopsis of [Grimm's Fairy Tales · The Brave Little Tailor], for more detailed original text, you can search and read it online

In a small village, a poor but clever and hardworking little tailor made a belt embroidered with "Slew seven at one blow" because he killed seven flies. Encouraged by the belt, he decided to leave his hometown and venture into the world.

During his journey, the little tailor met a giant. With his wit and courage, such as using cheese to compare strength and using small birds to compare throwing height, he successfully won the giant's respect and friendship. After that, he came to a palace. The king saw the words on the belt and invited him to join the army. Facing the king's test and the jealousy of other officers, the little tailor once again showed his wisdom and successfully resolved the crisis, such as fighting giants with wisdom and cleverly capturing unicorns. In the end, he won the king's trust and appreciation and became a hero in the kingdom.

The king betrothed his daughter to the little tailor and promised to give him half of the kingdom. However, because the little tailor revealed his true identity in a dream, the princess and the king designed to frame him. But the little tailor once again resolved the crisis with his wit and lived a happy life ever after.

This story focuses on the little tailor's adventure, showing his courage, wit and self-confidence, and emphasizing the importance of wisdom and courage in the face of difficulties and challenges.